Regional Tennis at UC Irvine : Black Beats Back Foe to Win Tournament, Give USC Needed Lift

Freshman Byron Black arrived at USC this fall without the fanfare that greeted some of the top junior tennis players at other colleges.

Everyone talked about Georgia’s impressive freshman group, led by the No. 1-ranked American junior, Al Parker. Stanford also drew attention by recruiting U.S. Open junior champion David Wheaton.

But there is a good reason why Black wasn’t lauded. He’s from Zimbabwe, and tennis players from there aren’t exactly known quantities, even among people who make it their business to know.

Which is fine, as far as Black is concerned. “It’s not a big deal,” he said. “Zimbabwe is a pretty small country.”

At home, he’s considered a bona fide athletic hero, having led Zimbabwe to two Davis Cup victories in zonal competition this year. Black, 18, was selected to represent his country in Davis Cup at age 17 and was named Zimbabwe Sportsman of the Year by virtue of his Cup victories. He didn’t lose a singles match in three ties and pulled off a major surprise, beating Nigeria’s Nduka Odizor, who was then ranked No. 78.

Now, if Black continues on schedule, it’s going to be difficult to keep his abilities a secret in the United States. He took his first step on Sunday, defeating unseeded Dan Mattera of the University of San Diego, 7-5, 6-1, in the final of the Rolex/ITCA Southern California regional tennis tournament at UC Irvine.

Black, seeded No. 2 in the tournament and ranked No. 27 among collegiate players, won the title without dropping a set and also qualified for the National Indoor event in Minneapolis, Feb. 4-7. He earned the spot by taking 12 of the final 13 games in the final, rallying from a 1-5 first-set deficit.

Mattera’s downfall started once he took the 5-1 lead. His mind started to wander from the courts at Irvine--all the way to Minnesota.

“I was thinking of so many things,” said Mattera, who alternated between No. 5 and No. 6 singles for USD last season. “I saw myself on the airplane to the Indoors in Minneapolis. I just tightened up. I was thinking, ‘I’m not supposed to be winning this match.’ ”

Black broke Mattera in the next game, and he held service at 15 to pull to 3-5.

At one point, when he was down 1-5, Black briefly considered dropping the first set and concentrating on winning the next two.

“I was thinking about that,” said Black, who is unusual in that he hits a two-handed forehand and backhand. “I was just trying to stay in there. I tried to break his serve, and once I did it, I realized I could do it again. His forehand was breaking down.”

Said Mattera: “I’ve got to relax more. I just tightened up once I hit 5-1. It’s happened to me a lot. I know his coach was probably telling him, ‘If you get a couple of games, you can win the set.’ There was so much pressure on me, not by him, but I kept applying it on myself.”

Black felt that he had played better during his quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Saturday. In the final, his backhand wasn’t as consistent and he kept switching rackets, trying to find the right string tension.

So the future looks brighter for USC, which lost its top two players from last year, Rick Leach and Luke Jensen. Senior Scott Melville won the Volvo/Collegiate tournament at UCLA earlier this month, and Black’s victory gives the Trojans a sweep of major collegiate events in Southern California this fall.

Black’s transition from Zimbabwe to Los Angeles was a bit of a fluke. He knew of USC’s excellent tennis tradition and wrote to Coach Dick Leach, inquiring about scholarships. Leach looked at Black’s record, and his interest was piqued when he saw that Black had recorded a victory over Parker.

“I get about 10 letters a week like his letter,” Leach said. “I open them all. And . . . I’m glad I do.”

Tennis Notes

Arizona State’s Brian Gyetko and Mike Holten defeated teammates Doug Sachs and Dan Marting, 6-2, 6-1, in the doubles final. Gyetko and Holten qualified for the National Indoor tournament in Minneapolis, Feb. 4-7.